


I Care For You, You Idiot!

by Beautiful_Darkside



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blue Lions Route, Confessions, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, What if Scenario, post time skip spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 10:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20758742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautiful_Darkside/pseuds/Beautiful_Darkside
Summary: While Byleth could not save her own father, she'll be damned if she doesn't try for Felix.





	I Care For You, You Idiot!

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed that no one has explored this scenario yet, of using the Divine Pulse to save Rodrigue, so I've fixed that. Took me two weeks of late nights and editing, deleting, and re-editing, but I'm finally satisfied with how it turned out.
> 
> The song When I'm Alone by Nevertheless is totally a mood song for Felix. Randomly popped into my mind out of the blue after probably not listening to it for 3-4 years.

No...no, they couldn’t lose him, not like this. Felix had already lost so much, and for him to lose his father before they could begin to repair the damage, well, that wouldn’t do at all.

Not again, not again.

Byleth weighed the consequences while determining whether or not it was worth the gamble of turning back the clock in an effort to fix everything, to save Rodreigue, but her love for Felix quickly overruled all reason. She would do it, consequences be damned. She hadn’t been able to save her own father, but maybe, just maybe things would actually work this time.

Time went backwards, and this time, she’d be the one to deflect the girl before she could reach Dimitri, before Rodrigue stepped into harm’s way and took the fatal blow. She darts in, slinging the blade of the Sword of the Creator into a whip to block her attack from reaching its intended target, and the next thing she knows she’s falling, falling, falling.

She awoke in the infirmary, bandages swathed around her arms and head. Felix was in the next bed over, likely just taking a well needed nap if his slightly disheveled appearance said anything about it. She struggled to sit up to get a better look at her surroundings, but it hurt.

“What are you? Stupid?” Felix said, flicking her nose. 

She must have woken him up with her struggling. At any other time the gesture would have come across as cruel, but she could see the concern in his amber eyes.

He helped her sit up, then moved to fetch a glass of water. She felt parched as a desert from sleeping so long, although it wasn’t nearly as bad as waking up from her five year dirt nap.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” he scolded, taking her empty glass and setting it on a nearby table. “Your life is not worth it. Not for the boar, not for me, or anyone else.”

It was then that she really got a good look at him. The circles under his eyes, the blood that still clung to his clothing in places. She winced. It was probably hers. Their eyes finally met, and she saw the pleading, the desperation in them. She looked away.

“I...I can’t promise you that completely,” Byleth stumbled over her words, her voice a bit hoarse.

“Why not?” Felix responded, a scowl masking his concern. “That boar is not worth it. He’ll be a king of nothing but corpses at this rate.”

“He’s not, but you...a world without you is not a world that is worth living in,” she let out softly.

Felix froze for a moment at her words, gaping like a fish. True, it was a confirmation of his greatest hopes - Byleth had feelings for him, and they were not unreturned - but he still had no idea what to do with that information. Except…

He attempts to hide his blush with his hand, but to no avail. “How about I cut you a deal, huh?” he finally decides, offering her a small smile. “I’ll protect you, and you protect me. And we’ll become stronger together, just as we always have.” He offered his hand to shake on it. “Together until the end?”

Byleth reached out, then quickly withdrew. “Does this mean we have to go our separate ways once the war is over? Because I don’t want that.”

“Tsk. Always so difficult.” He reached out to cup her chin, giving her an out if she wanted it but thankfully, she didn’t waver in composure. He pulled her in to finally, _ finally!_ kiss her, however brief or clumsy it may be. He still hovered, nose to nose, forehead to forehead as he reassured her. “Together forever, to whatever end.”

They clung to each other for a bit, both too afraid of losing what had finally been found, after so long. It was Byleth who eventually broke the silence.

“Your father...is he okay?”

Felix shot her a puzzled look. “What sort of question is that? I mean, he was upset for a bit that there had been a traitor in our midst, but once you were in the clear...are you okay, By?” He brushed the hair out of her eyes, his own etched in concern.

“No, it’s...it’s nothing,” she quickly brushed it off, steeling herself as to not cry in front of the usually sharp tongued swordsman. 

He looked skeptical. “Doesn’t sound like nothing.” He rubbed her shoulders in reassurance. “If you need to talk, talk. I’ll listen.”

Byleth questioned for a moment whether or not she should tell him, because once that can of worms was open….It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him (she did, with her life), it was just...how did you tell your friend-turned-maybe-lover that you literally had the power of a goddess, who had been coexisting inside your head up until the past six years or so?

She sighed. Well, it was now or never. “Alright. I’m going to tell you everything, and this is going to sound completely crazy, but I swear I’m not making any of this up.”

She took a deep breath before continuing on. “I have the power to turn back time. Not for large amounts of time, but enough to prevent a few casualties in battle from time to time.”

Felix looks rather gobsmacked at this sudden revelation, but had the sense to keep quiet.

“It...it wasn’t enough to save my father. But yours...it appears that it worked.”

“So...you’re telling me that you intentionally put yourself in danger, knowing full well what might happen, just to spare my old man?” Felix looked at her incredulously. 

She looked down at her hands in embarrassment. “Well, that, and to spare you the pain of losing the only family you have left. Even if you’re not close, he still cares about you.”

“And I care for you. Idiot.” He leans over to kiss her forehead, but it does nothing to disguise the blush on his face. How does one girl have the ability to make him so flustered?

Byleth smiles softly back at him. “Honestly, the worst thing that probably would have happened is another five year nap while my body recovers from any extensive injuries. Usually I’m okay using this power, the Divine Pulse a handful of times in a battle, but I suppose this time I might have...overexerted myself a bit too much.”

He paused to think for a moment before speaking. “So that time right after we fought...what was her name? Kronos? Kronya? Something or other…” he shook his head to regain focus. “You passed out then as well.”

Byleth nods, although she doesn’t quite remember all that happened. She had expected him to be a lot more annoyed with her for not taking care of herself, and yet all she could see was concern in his ever-burning amber eyes. Concern and...something else, that continuously threatened to bubble up from the depths. “Yes, one moment, we had won the battle, and the next thing I knew, Lady Rhea was...singing to me? It was so very, very odd. I think it had more to do with my transformation than anything else though.”

She struggles with her thoughts for a moment before brushing her hair aside to reveal a delicately pointed ear. “I’m...I’m definitely not quite human after merging with Sothis, if I ever was to begin with.”

The pain in her eyes made his heart ache. Gods, how long had she been dealing with this on her own? Gently, he eases her into his arms to rest against his chest. Byleth sighs at the comfort, nestling further into the warmth his body provided.

“I don’t even have a heartbeat, Felix. What is wrong with me?”

“How is that even possible?” he asks. “You’d be dead.” He looks at her, a watery smile across his face. “Please don’t...don’t say things like that, Byleth. Because if this has all been a dream, if you’re not really here with me right now, well, I just couldn’t bear it.”

She shrugs tiredly, offering him a small smile. “Dunno,” she says, stifling a yawn. “Always been like that. But I’m here, I promise.” She squeezes his hand reassuringly, rubbing lazy circles into his palm. “Stay with me, Felix?”

He hummed. “Like I have a choice? Of course I’ll stay with you. Forever, even.”

Some time later, Rodrigue stopped by to check on the progress of Byleth’s recovery, knowing that Felix was most likely nearby. He wasn’t exactly expecting to find their beloved professor fast asleep in his son’s arms, but, well...if his son was finally being true to his feelings, he’d allow it.

“Is everything…” he started to ask.

Felix waved it off. “She’ll be fine. Woke up just a little while ago, then fell asleep on me. Literally.”

His father chuckles. “It’s good to see that the two of you are still taking care of each other, after all this time.”

Felix pretended that he didn’t catch his father’s meaning. However, the redness of his face betrayed him.

Rodrigue smiled. “She’s good for you, Felix.”

“Tch. Like you’d know anything about that, old man,” he grumbled. “You’ve been too busy trying to help that boar out of the pit he’s dug himself into to notice your own son.”

“You pushed me away. Every chance you had, Felix, you pushed everyone away.”

“Because I needed you!” Felix was almost shouting at this point. Byleth, blessedly still within the grasp of sleep, was clutched protectively to his chest. He gently carded a hand through her hair, reminding himself that as long as he had her, things would be okay.

“I needed you,” he rasped. “I needed you to be a parent, and you failed me.”

“Felix…” His heart broke, seeing his son like this. But finally, finally, maybe they were getting somewhere.

“Save it,” Felix spat. “I don’t want your empty apologies. Just...do better. You’re supposed to push back when I’m too stubborn for my own good.”

Rodrigue nodded, knowing this was as close to acceptance as he was going to get from his son. Although he wanted more, if they were to make any progress at making amends, it would have to be on Felix’s own terms. It was much to his great joy, and great sorrow, that his son had turned out so much like him - unyieldingly strong, endlessly loyal to the few he deigned to care about, and stubborn to a fault.

He paused for a moment, wistfully lost in the memories of days gone by, and then remembered why he had sought out his son in the first place. He fumbled through his pockets for a few moments until he found what he was looking for. Felix gasped when he saw the familiar object.

“Mother’s ring,” he spoke reverently. “It’s...it’s been so long since I’ve seen it, but I’d know that ring anywhere.”

“It is,” Rodrigue spoke, passing his son the ring to inspect. It was a family heirloom, a beautiful silver ring with a large sapphire stone, the family crest engraved in its center. It was intended to be given to the next woman who would produce the scions of House Frauldarius. Felix lifted the silver chain around his neck out from under his tunic to drag out the matching one he’d received when he’d come of age, to show his father that he had still kept it after all this time.

“She’s still asleep, right?” he asked with a hushed voice.

Felix nodded, shifting Byleth so that she was resting more on the bed and less on him so that he could actually get up, if needed. “By sleeps like the dead when she’s in this sort of restorative sleep. Or, that’s what Seteth told me, at least. I just need to stay with her so she doesn’t go into a panic when she wakes.”

“Then...I think it’s time I passed it on to you. You’ll know when the time is right.”

He scoffed. “We’re at war; death is all around us. And yet, here I am, contemplating proposing like some sap.” He shook his head at the absurdity of it all. “I suppose I should spring the question sooner rather than later, though. I’m sure mine is not the first heart she has ensnared.”

His father smiled. “Maybe not, but it seems pretty clear who she’s chosen. Even in your Academy days, she still favored you...and you her.”

Felix turned beet red. His father chuckled. _Oh Felix. You still wear your heart on your sleeve, when you allow yourself to actually listen to it. _ Rodrigue would always be grateful to Byleth for dragging that side of his son back out in the open again. It had been far too long since the boy had allowed himself to be vulnerable around other people, and for him to have finally found love - Rodrigue wanted to weep with joy.

His son was finally allowing himself to heal, and it was a beautiful thing.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sort of conversation I feel kinda needs to happen in order for Felix to start mending the bond with his father. It isn't just a clash of ideals that causes him to push him away after Glenn's death, but the fact that Rodrigue probably spends a lot more time with Dimitri than his own son only serves to alienate him further. Add the resentment Felix probably feels that Dimitri lived and his brother didn't, and you have a recipe for disaster.
> 
> Please like/comment! Even if you just want to spam me with random ideas or headcannons. If this gets enough attention I might do a follow up or something.


End file.
